Thursday, October 31, 2013

Barcelona: Palau Menor. Mystery M on Templar Doors. Cathar-Templar, or Mere Decoration? Royal Palace Minor

M's on the Doors
Palacio Real Menor (spellings vary: Palacio Reial Menor, Palau Real Menor)

Palacio Real Menor, Barcelona. M's on Doors.

A. Background. Keep the palaces straight.

1. There is the Palacio Real Mayor (Palacio Reial Mayor)(Major Palau), and the Palacio Real Menor, a royal chapel nearby. The Palace Major is in the Gothic quarter, and was the residence of the Counts of Barcelona and later, for kings of Aragon. It has been documented since 1116.

2. As to the Palacio Real (Reiale) Menor, construction also began early, as a Templar project in 1134 or so. Upon dissolution of the Templars in about 1213, the Knights of St. John Hospital (Hospitallers) were granted rights and properties formerly Templar. The Palacio Real changed hands, and then was rebuilt after much wear and tear. The Requesens family took over. Wikipedia's Encyclopedia offers a good non-touristy framework for understanding its history. The original structure, however, was demolished in the mid-19th Century.

3.  Is anything original left inside or outside, even if refurbished. Are some items or symbols used from storage somewhere, from the 19th Century. Who knows. It takes a Spanish speaker to sort out the sites. Explore. Specifically:

B.  What are the M's on the doors to the chapel here:  the Mystery M on the chapel doors.

1.  I see no royal or other prominent person with the M initial, who would likely be memorialized there. 

2.  There is this opportunity for logical conjecture.  M's on the march"

Juxtapose this set of Mystery M's with Egyptian references, perhaps; with the mystery of the name of the North Gate at the Templar town of La Couvertoirade in France:  The Gate of Amoun.

That seems to be a reference to Amun, or Amen, an Egyptian theological concept.  Perhaps the Amun, or Amoun Gate represents some connection to the Templars in crusades in Egypt, such as the 7th Crusade; and what did they learn there, or bring away, or what did they learn while under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem that led them ultimately to track matters back to Egypt.

Ma'at -- goddess of the order of things, a part of (perhaps) theologies morphing through the Paulicians to the Manicheans, to the Bogomils to the Cathars, and Templar access to those things. See http://www.cathar.info/120117_heavenhell.htm   Rebirth, transmigration of souls, origins of heaven and hell notions as not particularly or uniquely Christian after all, despite Michael, and where was Jesus for the first decades of his adult life if not Egypt?  Or Memphis, a particular theological setting in ancient Egypt, the Theology of Memphis, see http://www.csun.edu/~rlc31920/documents/History%20110/Theology_of_Memphis.pdf, including the power of annunciation, the Word that, when spoken, creates the reality of which it spoke, the idea creation out of nothing else, etc. 

Or for Mother Mari, see http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_autor_whenry04.htm;
or the manuscript "Mari", same site.

C.  Tradition has long held, variously, that Templars did bring information or documents or something that the Church would want to control or suppress or use for itself as to earliest Christian beliefs and where they originated.

1.  Why not look more seiously at ancient Egyptology, Egyptian religion, perhaps connecting to Amun, or Amoun, and see what would disturb the militant, territorial and hierarchy-driven Christian church as it separated itself from the rest of Christendom in the 11th Century.

2.  Theology of Memphis.  This is one of the several evolving theologies of ancient Egypt, and the one that matches the M's.  What would be found there of interest?

Many ideas.  The creative power of the Word, anticipating the Logos doctrine of the New Testament, and Creation stories where the power of the utterance leads to creation itself, out of nothing but the idea spoken, the similarities to what we have been told are Israelite concepts in conjunction with a God that chose then dabbled with them and their fates, and the Creation stories included in the Western Bible.

Where to start?  Start with the actual theology of Memphis, at http://www.csun.edu/~rlc31920/documents/History%20110/Theology_of_Memphis.pdf.  There, on the chart of the gods, see Ptah, the god of craftsmen among other things.  Templars, Templar symbols and ritual, Masons, a possible connect. 

Then see, after Ptah, Atum. Sounds like Adm, Adam. The concept of what the created thing included.
And, step 3, take a short cut again to Wikipedia Encyclopedia for a summary of the various Egyptian approaches, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_creation_myths 

This suggests that the Templars espoused or at least opened the door to the Memphis Rite.  So, what are the M's on the entry doors of this last vestige of an old Palace, a royal palace once, now merely minor. There  is a larger, more prominent palace that remains elsewhere, but nearby.

The chapel that remains of the minor palace here is deep in alleyways, perhaps was moved to this place when the city walls were torn down so the city could expand.  It is hid amid narrow streets where you can almost touch the walls of buildings on both sides, where even the GPS laughs at your going in circles. We still felt safe.  Go where you like when you travel.

3.  Double M. 

We know this chapel has Templar connections. In 2013, we now also know that the Templars were absolved of heresy even in the decade in which they were tortured and killed on that ground, and their property confiscated (where, ask the legends, is the real treasure?) and divided between the King of France, Philip the Fair, Philip II.

Absolved?  Yet, the Roman Catholic Church, under old Pope Clement V, hid the story and is the Vatican only now about to release a book about all this?  The Chinon parchments from the old trials? See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1565252/Vatican-paper-set-to-clear-Knights-Templar.html

  • Rather than pass off the idea of ancient Egyptian origins of beliefs that Western Religion likes to think are uniquely Christian, read Ancient Egypt, ed. David P. Silverman, NY Oxford Univ Press 1997 at 125 ff. Amun the Unknowable, the Memphis theology, the Word of God, Akhenaten, time and eternity, etc.  
  • The institutional church's violent killing and discrediting of Manicheans, Paulicians, others, and the centuries of book burnings and destruction of ancient libraries: ask, what does the Vatican Library, for example, still hold, that may cast real doubt on the "Christian" obsessions with hierarchies and rules that prevent autonomy, discussion.
 
Meanwhile,the M's.  Hobnail pattern.  Is the door wooden or leather. I cannot recall and my notes are silent.  If leather, would they be as old, or would the leather have disintetrated. 

D.  More possibilities for the M, for other researchers and amateurs to investigate in order to ward off Alzheimers:

1.  M is for a Masonic M. Not yet.

Not so far.  I see no Masonic M in an overt M pattern, only the M in some hand signals, ring and center finger together, pinky and pointer separated.  Is that so?  A dead end for us. We know that later Freemasons built their rituals and whatever on allegedly Templar roots, but this particular clear alphabetical, not particularly occult, capital M eludes me.

2. M is for Mary, Virgin Mary. Not yet. But see the reference to Mari, above.

Not so far.  I see no other name for this place so far than the chapel of the palace minor, that the Templars allegedly used.  This one: There are statues, carvings, paintings of the Virgin Mary inside, but not reflected in the name. There already is the Barcelona Cathedral, the Saint Mary of the Sea, the Santa Maria del Mar.

From the nature of the portraits, alcoves with apparent Madonnas, echoes of  Black Madonnas not entirely explained by mere exposure to dampness, must, fire, whatever, emerge.  Some black figures whether of Jesus of Mary appear to be intentionally black. How to cross reference all we have found in 15 years of European travel on our own, without Google's algorithm accusing us of cross-spamming ourselves and deleting the whole thing.  Pity.

3.  M is for a more occult form of heresy, shown here, if the M means that, to have survived the decimation of the Templars who were charged with heresies on other grounds.

Back to the Memphis Rite. 

The Memphis Rite, ancient Egyptology, where the very origins of the nature of the creating deity, long claimed to be the purview of the Israelites as Chosen - and ultimately the group that claims to be the only legitimate inheritor of Christ's true whatever.

  

Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Barcelona, Royal Chapel Minor, Interior. Santa Maria de Palau, 4 Ataulf Street. Four Atulf Street. Templar Origins

Interior, Chapel, Palau Reial Menor 
Royal Chapel Minor, Barcelona 
Santa Maria de Palau
Lesser Royal Palace

Once Templar

Arrive at 4 Ataulf Street after dusk, after a long site hunt through alleyways, enter to find a small service in process, wait and feel welcomed. A very old priest, perhaps five worshippers, all old, old.  Polite photographs, each time gesturing for permission as the equivalent of the altar guild closed up.


Barcelona, Altar, Interior, Chapel, Palau Reial Menor, Royal Chapel Minor,  at 4 Ataulf Street. The Lesser Royal Palace.

This Chapel was once a Templar place of worship, although it has undergone renovations, and even been moved to this location.  What is original?  I am still looking for a comprehensive assessment somewhere.

Templars being exonerated. The Templars were declared heretic in 1307, tortured and killed, and the Order dissolved in 1313.  I understand that the Vatican is in process of exonerating them, update October 5, as Pope Clement found them innocent of heresy long ago -- and suppressed the order.  It has been found, misfiled.  See a history by an ongoing group, http://www.templarusa.org/who.html

1.  On the walls were several Cross Alisee Patee shapes, Cross forms, like a engraved stencil perhaps, re-darkened, but not deeply carved into the stone.  FN 1.

Templars held no monopoly on crosses like these.  See variations of this rounded, encircled variation also known as cross formee or cross formy, but these shapes frequent their places.  Do a search, in images.  A motorcycle club has adopted it for its protective symbolism, see http://www.protectorsmc.com/Colors.aspx/.  


Crosses Alisee Pattee:

.
More crosses alisee pattee at the Santa Maria de Palau.  This niche is stoned up.  Would that make the cross affixed more likely to be original, but where does the door go?
The chapel itself was moved to this location after 1859 when the rest of the palace had been demolished or was crumbled, see the long history of this chapel and the Templar history at http://catholicbarcelona.com/2009/11/04/santa-maria-de-palau/ 

2.  Chapel history, roughly:

1099          Bernard of Clairvaux establishes the Templars, see chronology at http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/knights-templar-timeline.htm/ Crusades continue.
1134         Templars establish a "garrison-fief" along the city wall, to continue and enhance their influence over Aragon, capital Barcelona. A larger church was built outside the city, at Palau -Solita. See http://www.monestirs.cat/monst/bcn/cbn02pala.htm (click to translate)
1246-48   Chapel built by Templars
1282         Templar commanderie moved from Palau-Solita to this location
1312         Catholic Church and King decimate, killed most of the Templars, in a hunt that went on for years, and confiscated their property for their own coffers
1354-57
to 1400     While a convent was being constructed for Dominican Sisters, the Chapel here was given over for their use. Entrenchment, conversion, of the institution's ideas and policy to further weaken Templar influence, even in memory.
 1500's -
1850's or so  The powerful Recasens family take control 
1542        Recasens family builds larger tower and Gothic vaulting, stonework
1859        Old palace torn down, as part of tearing down old walls, expanding the city.  Area given over to Jesuits, chapel renamed Our Lady of Victory.  Jesuits tore down the tower and added a second story for their library.
2001 +/-  Restorations.  Mass once a day.

3.  Number 4 Ataulf Street, Atulf Street, Barcelona.  At the time of the renovation in the 1600's or so, how much of the original chapel,although later moved, was left even then? These numbers could be part of the stations of the cross, and not the building address number for the post office, is that so?

Interior, 4 Ataulf Street, Chapel, Palau Reial Menor, Barcelona

Station Number 4 would be where Jesus meets his mother on the way to the cross.  To be checked. Need to enlarge, etc.

4.  The Black Madonna, the Virgin of Montserrat. Niche at Royal Chapel Minor



Why is.The Black Madonna of Montserrat here?  The original is a centerpiece of a monastery some 30 miles to the northwest, and is reproduced in many places. Pope Leo in the late nineteenth century declared this carved Black Virgin to be the patron saint of Catalonia. Does the original date from the early Church in the Holy Land, even carved by Luke, or is it merely Romanesque from the 12th Century?

Scholars disagree, see http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/olmont.html

Somebody could take a chip and date this, but apparently it has not been done. Still, why would it appear in a Templar chapel, renovated in the 16th Century, except that later believers apart from any Templar roots wanted it?

This stone niche is more approachable than this fenced-in Black Madonna. Same church?  Coloring and gilt are all different, so I have to check.  Meanwhile, no label. My son and I swapped cards as my more "advanced" camera finked out, and his soldiered on.



5.  Ironwork, interior door, Palau Reial Menor.

Again, I believe this ironwork door was from the interior of Palau Reial Menor, but the swapping of photocards makes it uneasy.

I was interested because of a similar door -- would you believe -- in a Templar round church in Denmark. See it at http://denmarkroadways.blogspot.com/2011/07/bjernede-inside-round-church-rundkirke.html/. Now, look specifically at the lock forms.  A variation on the usual crosses.  Still checking that.





5.  Place-holder photograph while I check.  These have no embedded identification until I find more definitively what they are. Those of us who travel on our own, with cameras, and sloppy notebooks,  make mistakes, but want to preserve a record for later correction-additions.

Bear with us, and do try this kind of travel, on your own.  Adrenalin, brain synapses and fun,  can result from these kinds of hunts. for some of us.

Questions from our poor record-keeping in our sloppy but well-meaning logs:

Is this from this church, or another?  Here for now, unlabelled until sure.  There is a 1748 in it, and reference to ____ de Ramon. Earlier Ramon connections could be to the Counts of Barcelona, see http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/CATALAN%20NOBILITY.htm/.  But this one?




Also here as a placeholder. Which church? With fiddling, perhaps I can type this one out and translate.


Also not sure.  Looks too fancy for here. Dan and I had to swap cards sometimes when my untrusty camera died on and off.

Closeup of black madonna from photograph of whoever above.

 

Symbol of the crescent, connected with Black Madonna; or perhaps another figure, Sara la Kali,.  See Gdansk at another site of ours, at http://polandroadways.blogspot.com/2007/09/gdansk-church-of-saint-mary-black.html/  Tracking groups' dogma and narrative is one thing, and usually leads to ambiguities that do not fit.  Go there yourself, pose the question, and see what else you find. 

Follow along:  now go back to Denmark's Rundkirke, and find the crescent also on the headgear of Saint Lawrence, at http://denmarkroadways.blogspot.com/2011/07/bjernede-inside-round-church-rundkirke.html

Do those anomalies, coincidences, repeated theme symbols, add up to anything?  We stay interested, and surprised at the lack of first hand information we find.  Everyone seems to quote from other sources and conclude that those, because antecedent, must be correct.  Nuts.

6.  Skull and crossbones. 

Hold this image.

This church or another?  The symbolism is explored, vet it yourself, at http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_masonsknightstemplar06.htm

It is hard to imagine that this would survive not only 1312's slaughter and confiscations, but also possession by the Catholic Church and the rest of the history here.  Did it?





7.  Heraldry on the wall, high up, Ssanta Maria de Palau 

.


In close-up, there are four quadranats, with a diagonal going from high left to lower right, facing the sigil. In the top right quadrant are four it looks like horses, a checkered sheild is in the center, and two animals (also horses or are the necks too short?) in the lower left quadrant.

There is a heraldry institute of Rome. I looked up the Recasens family, but came up dry, at http://heraldrysinstitute.com/cognomi_italiani.php?paese=Spain&lang=en&cognome=Recasens/ This shows Recasens, but no similarities with this simple quadrant and diagonal cum horses. See http://www.heraldicapellido.com/r2/Recasens.htm


8.  Stonework by interior door, renovations-repairs apparent.  Need to do a close-up. And what is the M?



Close-up of other portal work, see http://www.monestirs.cat/monst/bcn/cbn02pala.htm



..................................................................................................

FN 1
  • Missing from this otherwise fine site for interest-routes available to tourists in Spain is anything to do with the Templars.  Are the guilty institutions still so fearful of them, while the rest of us remain horrified at the bloody revenge taken upon them beginning 1312 for their acquisition of power and development of whatever they developed, on their own? See http://www.plustravelspain.com/routes2.html/ Templars.  Denied even the memory, the fate of those deemed heretic and whose property was confiscated to enrich the powers; and is that why the fictions grow? 
  •  Needed:  A route that will root in Templar fact, if any can still be found after the destruction.
  • Shall we examine exactly what was heretical about them, and why differing beliefs should justify mass murder, as it does and did?  The heritage of crusade:  that those who deem themselves right can kill of the others, and do so without societal consequence.